Michael Jackson: 1958-2009 – obituary

The singer was on the verge of launching a comeback with a series of shows at London‘s massive 02 Arena in July. Sadly, those shows will now no longer take place.

Jackson first found fame with his brothers in the Jackson 5, scoring a string of hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including ‘ABC’, ‘The Love You Save’ and ‘I Want You Back’.

The star’s fame continued throughout the 1970s, but he broke off from his siblings to make the ‘Off The Wall’ album with producer Quincy Jones in 1979, a partnership which also resulted in 1982’s ‘Thriller’ album, a record which remains the biggest-selling album of all time.

Jackson‘s status as the world’s biggest superstar was confirmed at the 1983 Motown Records party, when he ‘moonwalked’ to ‘Billie Jean’ before an audience of millions.

After the release of his ‘Bad’ album in 1987, Jacko became an ever bigger celebrity and his 1988 world tour cemented his position as the biggest pop star on the planet.

He released ‘Dangerous’ in 1991 and followed that up in 1995 with the ‘HIStory’ album, which was part new material (spawning two UK Number One singles in ‘You Are Not Alone’ and ‘Earth Song’) and part greatest hits.

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Jackson‘s releases were intermittent after this, with his only subsequent new material being 2001’s ‘Invincible’.

His fanbase remained huge despite the lack of releases and well-documented controversy – in 2005 he was found not guilty of all charges in a child sexual abuse trial.

His big comeback was planned for this summer, when he was scheduled to play 50 nights at the UK capital’s 02 Arena, kicking off on July 13.